Business briefs for July 30, 2001

Monday, July 30, 2001 | 11:13 a.m.

LV workers claim firm ran porn site

Two former Las Vegas employees of Credit Counselling Centers of America sued the credit assistance agency, alleging they were subjected to a "sexually harassing and hostile work environment" when they were forced to work on pornographic websites allegedly operated by the company.

David Matheny, a former Credit Counselling director of public relations, and Keith Bauer, a former media and education producer, who said they were both threatened with termination if they refused to work on the websites, said they resigned on Jan. 24 because of "aggravated and intolerable employment actions and working conditions."

The plaintiffs said that unlike male employees, female employees had the option to refuse to work on the websites.

They seek to recover lost pay as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

"We believe it is Art Posa, (the president), who is running the pornographic websites," said Adam Levine, the plaintiff's attorney. "We are currently investigating the circumstances and the involvement of Credit Counselling in this matter. We named Credit Counselling and not Posa as defendant because under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it's the employer and not the employee who's liable for sexual harassment and discrimination."

The defendant, based in Richardson, Texas, could not be reached for comment.

Singer sued by Vegas men

Singer R. Kelly is being sued by two Las Vegas men claiming to be composers of a song titled "Hands of Time."

Their suit alleges Kelly infringed on their copyrighted song by recording and releasing a similar version, "If I Could Turn Back The Hands of Time" in one of his albums.

Darry Lighten and Patrick Russell sued R. Kelly, New York-based Zomba Recording Corp. and its subsidiary, Jive Records Inc. and R. Kelly Publishing Inc. in U.S. District Court. They alleged Kelly used their copyrighted material for his song after they allegedly provided Kelly's manager with their "demo" tape on May 25, 1996, when Kelly was performing at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The defendants could not be reached for comment.

LV development sued under Fair Housing Act

Nevada Fair Housing Center Inc. and a Las Vegas condominium owner sued the owner, architect and general contractor of Winchester Condominiums, alleging they violated Fair Housing Act regulations when they failed to make the condominiums accessible to people with disabilities.

Nevada Fair Housing Center, a watchdog for discriminatory housing practices, and Walter Sinclair, a Winchester condominium owner, sued general contractor Warmington Homes-Nevada and its partner Warmington Lake Mead Associates Ltd. Partnership in U.S. District Court. Also named are Winchester Maintenance Corp. and George Tibsherany Inc. of Phoenix, the project's architect.

Sinclair, who said he has post-polio syndrome, which limits his ability to walk, said he bought a condominium at the 96-unit Winchester project because a Warmington Homes sales agent had allegedly told him the project is built to accommodate people with disabilities.

But Sinclair said he found his new home at Caliche Way and North Buffalo Drive had no designated handicap parking spaces, his bathroom walls weren't installed with grab bars and his kitchen allegedly wasn't designed for people with disability.

The defendants could not be reached for comment on the allegations.

Store opens in Henderson

A national consumer electronics retailer has opened its third Las Vegas-area store in Henderson's new SunMark Plaza.

Best Buy, a chain of more than 400 stores, opened the new 500,000-square-foot operation July 20. The chain of stores is owned by Best Buy Co. Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn., and each store has about 6,000 different kinds of consumer electronics products and appliances in its inventory. The store at Sunset Road and Marks Street has about 125 employees and is managed by John Penn.

The store is the first opened at the $75 million SunMark Plaza, developed by the Molasky Cos. and Laurich Properties Inc. Other tenants scheduled to open at the center are Costco, which plans a 170,000-square-foot "super center," Jo Ann etc., Petco, Bed Bath and Beyond, Ashley Furniture, Sport Chalet and David's Bridal.

Third out-of-state law firm challenges Nevada rule

A third out-of-state law firm is suing the State Bar of Nevada to get approval to practice in Nevada using its deceased founding members' names.

Los Angeles law firm Gibbs, Giden, Locher & Turner LLP seeks to join the efforts of two Phoenix-based law firms, Lewis and Roca LLP and Snell & Wilmer, in challenging the constitutionality of Nevada Supreme Court Rule 199, which prohibits a law firm from using the names of partners who aren't members of the Nevada Bar.

Gibbs, Giden, Locher & Turner, which has six full-time Nevada licensed attorneys, said Rule 199 is unconstitutional and allegedly creates deception by disguising the true identity of a firm and giving consumers less information than otherwise would be available.

The law firm said it is now forced to operate under the name "Mead, Salamone & Sofen affiliated with Gibbs, Giden, Lochen & Turner LLP."

The Gibbs firm said "the true motivation for enforcing Rule 199 is to protect local firms by preventing out-of-state law firms from entering the Nevada market place."

But the Nevada State Bar, in court papers, argued Rule 199 is enforceable because "direction or control of the professional judgment of Nevada lawyers by non-Nevada lawyers is prohibited."

XO Communications in deal

XO Communications, a provider of broadband communication services, said it plans to enter a multo-year $100 million-plus deal to provide its services to wireless carrier Nextel Communications Inc.

XO, formerly known as Nextlink, is based in Reston, Va. The company provides high-speed Internet and phone services to the Southern Nevada business community.

Nextel, also based in Reston, Va., is the nation's fifth largest wireless carrier behind Verizon Wireless, Cingular, AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS.

Craig McCaw, the founder and principle shareholder in XO, is chairman and chief executive of Eagle River LLC., an investment firm with a large stake in Nextel.

Judge dismisses suit against LV receiver

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a Michigan couple accusing George Swarts, a Las Vegas-based receiver, of failing to negotiate the best possible sales price for their property, a former radio station that was to have been converted into a topless bar.

Ron and Lydia Sweatt, who formed Motor City III LLC with Robert Katzman, said they jointly owned the property at 3510 W. Hacienda Ave. Swarts was appointed receiver for the company as a result of a separate legal dispute between the Sweatts and Katzman over its ownership.

The Sweatts alleged Swarts breached his fiduciary duties when he dismissed several allegedly valid offers, ranging from $3.2 million to $3.4 million and opted instead to get court approval only for a $2 million offer that he procured.

But U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson dismissed the Sweatts' claims, saying they failed to show Swarts "acted in bad faith or that his action was outside the scope of his authority."

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